Editorial: Undersheriff's questionable political machinations is his moonlight job

Los Angeles County Undersheriff Paul Tanaka's decision to withdraw his campaign for a third term as mayor of Gardena is a responsible choice. After all, he is facing an FBI investigation for allegedly condoning violence by deputies under his command against county jail inmates.

Though he remains on the ballot (it was too late to prevent that) he is not actively seeking the post. Still, something doesn't smell right about his announcement this week that he will simply step aside and support Gardena City Councilwoman Rachel Johnson's bid for mayor.

When he was promoted in June 2011 to what would become a short-lived reign as overseer of the county's jail system, Tanaka warned that the extra work duties would likely prevent him from seeking a third term as Gardena's mayor. But Tanaka was stripped of his jail command duties about a year later after an independent citizen's report cited the Sheriff's Department for alleged brutal beatings of inmates at the hands of deputies.

Shortly afterward, Tanaka filed candidacy papers for a third term as mayor because, as he claims, it appeared no one else on the City Council would run for the job. In a letter obtained earlier this week, Tanaka wrote that Johnson had previously declined his support in a mayoral bid.

But Tanaka's claim of ignorance doesn't hold water. At least one sitting City Council member - Dan Medina - said he told Tanaka that he would run for mayor if the incumbent chose to bow out of the race.

On the surface, Tanaka's decision appears to be gracious deference to Johnson. Maybe Tanaka was worried about a nasty re-election battle - something the quiet South Bay city of Gardena is not used to. Maybe the county jail abuse probe - coupled with previous allegations that Tanaka coerced deputies to donate to his political campaigns - are finally gaining traction.

Or, perhaps it was a calculated effort to keep other qualified candidates like Medina from entering the race, given the fact that it is difficult to defeat well-funded incumbents like Tanaka. Medina admitted that he ultimately sat out the race because he didn't want to mount an uphill battle against the sitting mayor.

Johnson told one of our reporters that she was disappointed that Gardena's voters won't have much of a choice among mayoral candidates in March. Voters should feel the same.

Johnson's background as a longtime educator with the Los Angeles Unified School District and three-term councilwoman certainly makes her qualified to serve as Gardena's next mayor. But competition is good democracy.

Given the latest development, Medina - and just about any other registered voter living in Gardena - have until Feb. 19 to decide whether to wage a write-in campaign for mayor. We encourage them to do so.